Chapter 198 - Dagger vs. Dagger (1/2)

Rip!

A slight sensation of something being torn.

It was what Feng Cheng felt every time his opponent's bullets hit the faint layer of fire created in front of him. Thanks to such a stratagem, it was possible for him to perceive bullets' arrival without having to rely on his eyes and his speed of reaction. Therefore, knowing the trajectory in advance, dodging them, albeit at close range, was not complicated.

Bang!

Another bullet was fired. Once again, Feng Chen dodged it by moving even before the flying object could hit his body. It didn't take long to reach his opponent, Malcolm Hammond.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Malcolm quickly fired one after the other, the three bullets left in his gun. The bullets flew at high speed, and yet Feng Chen, knowing their trajectory in advance, skillfully dodged the attacks until he was now at a distance where his sword could reach his opponent.

Slash!

An oblique cut from top to bottom. Feng Chen's sword followed this trajectory with lightning speed. However, it wasn't enough to checkmate Malcolm Hammond as he avoided the sword stroke at the last second while trafficking with his hands.

Click!

As he backed away, Malcolm inserted the hybrid bullets into his weapon as fast as he could. Then he aimed the revolver barrel at Feng Chen, who was practically in front of him.

”Take this!”

Bang!

Another blast and another bullet flew from Malcolm's gun to Feng Chen. This time, the fiery red-haired youngster's layer of fire wouldn't help him. Feng Chen was indeed too close to attempt to dodge the blow. The only solution would have been to strengthen his defense and receive the impact of the attack. And as expected, Feng Chen chose to take the attack head-on.

Boom!

'It is time to end this fight. You are probably wondering why your defense was overcome when I used the same attack as before. I'm sorry for you, but your analytical skills have turned against you. Never think you know everything about your opponent.' Malcolm commented in his head as he prepared to fire another bullet.

It was at that moment that it happened.

Whoosh!

A shadow emerged from the cloud of steam, exploded from the bullet fired by Malcolm. The shadow of a person, or Feng Chen. Incredibly, apart from his tattered clothes, his body was unharmed. There was no trace even that his defensive layer of spirit power had been affected.

Seeing this, Malcolm couldn't believe his eyes. How was that possible? He could understand that there were no injuries, but how could Feng Chen's defenses remain the same as before?

”No, it's impossible. It can not be.” Malcolm muttered as he fired two more bullets.

Bang! Bang!

The two fired bullets moved at high speed towards Feng Chen. However, they didn't reach him as they stopped a few centimeters before reaching him. Not only that, but the steam bursts from the two bullets were also unable to influence Feng Chen.

Once again, Feng Chen came out of the clouds of steam. This time, in front of him, there was a crystalline blue screen - an ice screen. It was thanks to this defensive technique that he managed to emerge unscathed from the attacks.

Crack! Slash!

The ice screen shattered, scattering ice crystals all around. Feng Chen swung his sword rapidly towards Malcolm's hand, which held the unusual weapon. Suddenly, the ice crystals that previously formed the ice screen stirred and gathered towards the point indicated by Feng Chen's sword.

Freeze!

A layer of ice landed on the revolver and continued until it covered the whole arm. But unfortunately for the young Malcolm, this wasn't the end.

Slash!

Another sword stroke and other ice crystals were formed. This time, the ice crystals landed on Malcolm's feet so that he was glued to the ground by the ice.

”Shit!” Malcolm Hammond swore as he tried to wriggle away. He tried to release his spirit power to the maximum to break the layer of ice that kept him imprisoned, but he didn't manage to do it. Or rather, it would take time to break it, and time was something he didn't have at the moment.

”Law of Fire, Phoenix Wing Strike!”

With his right arm stretched out to the side and parallel to the ground, Feng Chen ran towards his opponent at full speed. His arm hit Malcolm Hammond in the chest.

Crack!

The impact of the move was devastating. Malcolm was still anchored to the ground by the ice layer, so he could not use the rebound of being hit to lessen the damage. Instead, he had to undergo the full power of Feng Chen's move.

His protective layer of spirit power was shattered as flames covered his body. More and more severe burns were forming visibly, charring the young man's skin little by little.

Slash!

Another sword movement and the flames on Malcolm's body went out. Not only that, but even the layer of ice that kept the feet and the arm imprisoned was also destroyed. In this way, Malcolm finally fell to the ground while spitting blood due to the impact received.

”The winner is Feng Chen!” Song Yazhu said as he called the supporting martial artists on stage to take care of the young Malcolm. Even though he wasn't life-threatening, his injuries weren't either light.

Feng Chen then put his sword back and turned to return to the section where the other fighters were stationed. The audience greeted him with a roar of applause to thank him for the show he had provided.

”Unfortunately, the young Malcolm lost, but the young Feng Chen's victory was well deserved. Anyway, what do you think of the weapon we developed?” Principal Jing complimented before asking this question.

A series of discussions followed among the upper echelons. Feng Chen's talent and skills were first class, and it wasn't surprising that he had won. Yet, indeed, if Malcolm hadn't taken it for granted that his opponent had miscalculated the strength of his bullets, perhaps he could have come out on top. The attack speed was sufficient to overwhelm his opponent when used cunningly.

”Okay, Teacher Jing. For me, it can be done. In any case, since it was developed by a prototype taken from demons, it wouldn't surprise me that in the future, we will find ourselves against more users of this type of weapon. If we don't understand the full functionality of this new type of weapon ourselves, there is a danger of finding ourselves in difficulty in the next battles.” Feng Qing seriously replied.